The place of preaching the law

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Pergamum

Ordinary Guy (TM)
What is the place of preaching the law.

I have bumped against some New Covenant Theology Baptists (yet again, it can get tiresome) and they accuse those that preach the law to saints as "beating the sheep" and are against "scourging believers" with "the thunders of Sinai."

They believe that we are only to follow the "law of Love" or "the law of Christ" and so reject the catechisms which base our moral behavior on the ten commandments.

Can you give me New Testament examples of Paul and others preaching the law or basing our moral activity on the Ten Commandments?
 
What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

Romans 7:7

There is no gospel without the law. The good news is that there is a Savior from sin. Yet how do we know that we are sinners? Through the law. The law (along with giving us a rule of life) shows us our sin and our need or a Savior. The gospel tells how to be saved from that sin. How do we preach the good news when we have not made others aware of their sin and inability to save themselves from it. Even to saints, we are made aware of our sins and are thankful for the Savior who has covered them. Romans was written to believers after all.

---------- Post added at 09:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 PM ----------

On top of that, the moral law is from Creation, not Moses. It has always been a standard even before Sinai. New Covenant Baptists, obviously, have issues with the Old Testament. However, the church has existed since Adam, so has the law, and so has the gospel.
 
Jesus defends and promotes moral truth through His exposition or citation of the Ten Commandments in His public ministry:
  • First commandment: “For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Luke 4:8
  • Second commandment: “‘And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Mark 7:7
  • Third commandment: he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” Mark 3:29
  • Fourth commandment: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27
  • Fifth commandment: “For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’.” Matthew 15:4
  • Sixth commandment: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders…” Matthew 15:19
  • Seventh commandment: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery”Luke 16:18
  • Eighth commandment: “You know the commandments: … ‘You shall not steal’” Luke 18:20
  • Ninth commandment: “You are of your father, the devil… he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44
  • Tenth commandment: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Luke 12:15
Likewise, the apostles follow the pathway established by their Lord. For John, sin is “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). James says that if we but fail at keeping one law, we fail to keep them all. (James 2:10) Paul confesses to “delight in the law of God according to the inward man.” (Romans 7:22) Perhaps most significantly, the author of Hebrews claims (quoting from Jeremiah 33) that, in the new covenant, God has put His laws (plural) in our minds and written them on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10). The examples could be multiplied, but what is clear from just these citations is that the moral law is not replaced with just one command to love but that love is demonstrated through a keeping of the moral law of God.
 
What is the place of preaching the law.

I have bumped against some New Covenant Theology Baptists (yet again, it can get tiresome) and they accuse those that preach the law to saints as "beating the sheep" and are against "scourging believers" with "the thunders of Sinai."

They believe that we are only to follow the "law of Love" or "the law of Christ" and so reject the catechisms which base our moral behavior on the ten commandments.

Can you give me New Testament examples of Paul and others preaching the law or basing our moral activity on the Ten Commandments?

Ask them how the "law of love/Christ" plays out.

It's fine to say that they follow "the law of love" so long as they have a scripturally sound definition of what that is. Does the "law of love" involve lying? Does it involve selfishness? Does it involve irreverence/disobedience toward God?

Jesus did say that the greatest commandments were loving God and our neighbor, but because we are sinful and like to twist things to suit our own preferences there need to be parameters by which that love is defined.

Paul believed in the "law of love" as well, but he defined how that "law of love" is to be played out in our lives.
 
What are the later prophets without their preaching God's law to His people -- a fleshing out of the the covenantal promises and warnings presented in the giving of the law?
 
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